Struggling to get a decent signal on your iPhone? If you’ve jailbroken your handset with the latest Absinthe 2.0 release, then you may be in luck. SignalRefresh is a new, $0.99 iPhone tweak that promises to boost your signal strength to give you “the strongest possible voice/data signal at your current location.”

As you move around with your iPhone, you device is busy jumping between cell towers to try and establish a strong signal, ensuring you receive incoming calls, text messages, and Facebook pokes. The problem is, sometimes your iPhone can’t keep up with you, and it gets stuck trying to find the nearest cell tower.

SignalRefresh simply refreshes its connection, forcing it to reconnect with the nearest, strongest connection. The same results could be achieved by rebooting your handset or switching into and out of airplane mode. But SignalRefresh makes the whole process quicker and easier.

It almost sounds too good to be true, but according to those who have tried it, SignalRefresh actually works pretty well. I’ve been using it myself this morning, but I already have a pretty good iPhone signal in my town, so I didn’t really notice any changes. But Redmond Pie reports:

SignalRefresh does exactly what it says on the tin and in a lot of circumstances will provide a noticeably stronger signal for a certain subset of users.

Once installed on your device, you’ll find an icon for SignalRefresh on your home. When your signal strength is poor, simply open it up and let it do its thing.

This $0.99 tweak is available to download now via the BigBoss repo within Cydia. Let us know how it performs on your iPhone.

Source: Redmond Pie

Facebook is drawing upon former Apple engineers who worked on the iPhone and the iPad to develop its own phone, according to a new report.

We're always open to tools that help with automation or basic tech literacy, so our test of iOS app Triggers entailed a swift journey from joy to disappointment. Triggers uses the same basic idea as web automation tool If This Then That, allowing users to set a condition ("phone hears noise greater than 10") and define an output. Unfortunately, while If This Then That integrates a wide range of social networks, Triggers' inputs are basically limited to the physical sensors on the device. That means you'll be able to set conditions for acceleration, light, hand proximity to device, sound, or system time. It's not a bad set, but it's a shame that you can't set triggers for social networks, app launches, network signal strength, or even GPS...

Continue reading…

Not only does Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster see Apple’s and its investors’ financial outlook as essentially rosy for the foreseeable future, but he’s taking it one step further. He’s convinced that he has at least ten reasons to stay bullish on Apple stock over the next three years. He also thinks the stock price is going to hit $1000 per share.

Forbes reports that Munster expects to see what he calls meaningful updates to the iPhone and Mac, as well as a new TV to be shipped in 2013. He mentions retina-enabled Macs and Ivy Bridge processors as well as a smaller iPad coming in early 2013.

Munster also expects that the iPhone 5 will be “the biggest consumer electronics launch of 2012,” as well a massive upgrade cycle by consumers. He plans on seeing a new, “completely redesigned” body style for the iPhone, going further to even state that the back may actually be more like the “metallic rear panel of the current iPad.” Munster sides with caution on size, though, saying that he feels that there’s a 60 percent chance the screen will be four inches or larger.

Forbes also relates Munster’s TV thoughts, with the analyst expecting a shipping product as soon as December of 2013, with a possible price tag in the $1,500 to $2,000 range. He believes the screen will be somewhere around the 42 to 55 inch range, too. He’s a fan of the iPhone/iPad remote control idea, and also votes for the Siri theory. His prediction? That Apple will capture 10 percent of the television market within three years of launch.

The analyst continues his reasoning with a prediction that phone subsidies are likely to continue, that Apple will b able to keep their gross margins high for many years to come, and that China–already a large part of current Apple strategy–will play a larger part in the years to come. In addition, Munster points out that Apple has created and dominates the wave of post-PC and tablet computing, and believes that Apple will continue to maintain its market share lead while tablet sales also overtake PC sales by 2020.

These points run the gamut of speculative to fairly obvious, but it’s lovely to be living in a time that contrasts so vividly with a few decades ago, when Apple was the underdog. As for the $1000 per share (currently at $565.32 as of last Thursday) prediction? I wish I hung on to that Apple stock I bought in the late 1990s.

Source: Forbes
Image: Business Week

Apple on Friday released a second version of iOS 5.1.1 designed for the GSM iPhone 4, though failed to comment on what changes had been made to the mobile operating system or why it only affects one specific iPhone model.

A video released on Friday gives outsiders a look at what goes on inside a Foxconn factory responsible for the manufacture of a large portion of Apple's iPhone stock including the newest iPhone 4S.

Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, several iOS developers have put up big sales on popular titles. Among the two dozen or so titles on sale, we'd grab Grand Theft Auto III ($0.99), Infinity Blade II ($2.99), Real Racing HD ($1.99), NBA Jam ($1.99, iPad), FIFA Soccer 12 ($2.99), Mass Effect: Infiltrator ($2.99) and Dead Space ($1.99, iPad). Isn't it crazy to think that just ten years ago, Grand Theft Auto III retailed for $49.99? Well, maybe it's not that surprising, but if you've missed out until now, it's a great time to check out the classic game. If you can't spare a buck, rest assured that Rockstar and Electronic Arts will put their games on sale next holiday weekend too. Head over to 9to5Toys for the full list of apps and games...

Continue reading…

Auction house Sothebys has just posted a memo written by Steve Jobs to his co-workers at Atari, where he worked before starting Apple. The memo was written to his then-supervisor Stephen Bristow, and suggested changes Jobs had for Atari’s World Cup Soccer arcade game to extend the shelf life for arcade owners.

Funnily enough, while the memo is typed on Atari letterhead, it includes a stamp with the name of Steve’s company, “All-One Farm Design” and the address of the garage in which he and friend Steve Wozniak would soon create history with Apple Computer. Imagine if he’d gone ahead with designing farms?

From the Sothebys catalogue itself:

After leaving Reed College in the winter of 1974, Steve Jobs began working at Atari (as employee number 40) under the leadership of Nolan Bushnell and chief engineer Al Alcorn. He worked night shifts to improve the designs of existing Atari games, isolated from the colleagues who believed him to be arrogant and offensively Bohemian. He was as unimpressed by his colleagues as they were by him, referring to them regularly as “dumb shits.” However, he was profoundly influenced by 41-year-old Ron Wayne, who had previously started a company and inspired Jobs to do the same. Indeed, Wayne is listed on the original partnership agreement for Apple Computer Company as holding a 10% share, which he soon relinquished.

By adding sounds or addressing the durability of hardware, Jobs contributed to the overall experience of the Atari user. Walter Isaacson points out that Jobs “intuitively appreciated the simplicity of Atari’s games. They came with no manual and needed to be uncomplicated enough that a stoned freshman could figure them out.” Jobs carried this lesson with him to Apple, creating technology easily accessible and appealing in its straightforwardness.

The last time Sothebys sold a Steve Jobs document was in December of 2011. It sold for $1.6 million.

Source: Sothebys

More casting details have surfaced today for the Steve Jobs indie biopic starring Ashton Kutcher. Actress Ahna O’Reilly, most known for her role in The Help, will star opposite Kutcher as Chris-Ann Brennan, the love interest of Steve Jobs.

The biopic, titled jOBS, is expected to start filming next month and be available later this year.

Chris-Ann Brennan, a painter from the Bay area, dated Jobs on and off during his college years and eventually gave birth to his first daughter, Lisa, whom he disowned for a time. Jobs later went on to marry Laurene Powell. Considering that jOBS takes place in the early years of Jobs’ career while he was still a ”impressionable youth and wayward hippie,” the character of Brennan will be a significant part of the film.

Ahna O’Reilly was previously seen in movies like Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Nancy Drew before her role in The Help.

It was recently revealed that jOBS will shoot scenes in the original Apple garage, and Josh Gad is set to play the role of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

Sony is also working on a Steve Jobs movie with screenwriter Aaron Sorkin that will be based off Walter Isaacson’s official biography.

Source: Variety

Via: /Film

According to a report from advertising network Chitika, the share of internet-connected mobile devices has risen to 20 percent in the U.S. and Canada, a large portion of which are Apple products like the iPhone and iPad.

How many 7th Graders can say they best selling authors? Well this group of kids from Woodlawn Beach Middle School in Northern Florida can thanks to their teacher Andrea Santilli and iBooks Author.

Ms. Santilli, a self-professed “die-hard Mac girl”, was looking for a new way to not only challenge her Advanced Life Sciences class, but also leverage technology to make learning fun. Not to mention get some practical experience in the real world of writing, photography, video, and ebook publishing. Just a few minutes with this free ebook and you can see how much potential there is for iBooks Author and iPads in the classroom. Not to mention you’ll probably learn something interesting.

The ebook is very creative and well written (it’s for kids, but the fun facts are interesting for all nature geeks). Sure it’s from a 7th Grade class, and it isn’t like E.O. Wilson’s free book, but I think the kids and their teacher tapped into all the best features of iBooks author. They’ve included:

• Interesting layouts and nicely readable text with great info.
• Photo galleries of the plants and animals.
• Movies (made with iMovie, of course) … like feeding an alligator!

When we talk about Macs in school or using iPads to help kids learn better, we like to cite examples of kids learning faster and reading better. Both of which are fantastic, but honestly, I think to really get kids ready for the world, this kind of project is just perfect. Create an entire book that uses the best interactive technology available? Write something interesting that people will like to read and combine it with pictures and video? These are the skills that these kids are going to need for the future.

This project hits very close to home because not only am I an author myself, but I’m also a teacher, a dad, and a scientist. I love to see teachers being able to take advantage of technology like this (the school has started a Digital Education Fund to get more tools like digital microscopes, iPads, and other media for classes). So for this holiday weekend, pick up this free ebook and then take some time to enjoy nature. And if you’re in Northern Florida, now you have things to look for!

Source: iTunes

Via: MacLife

There are a handful of intrinsic beliefs that Apple has as company – most of which came from Steve Jobs. The constant focus on building experiences rather than just products is one of them. Another is that Apple looks forward and not backward when it comes to technology. The company simply acknowledges that to offer its users truly great new experiences (and products), it cannot hold onto (and be held back by) outdated technology.

Apple often gets criticized for pushing its technologies and its users forward, particularly in business and enterprise IT circles. Despite that criticism, Apple may be doing companies (and users) a big favor by not supporting older Macs and OS X releases indefinitely as Microsoft does with Windows XP – and that advantage isn’t just about better products.

An IDC study commissioned by Microsoft discovered that supporting XP now costs companies and schools five times what it would cost them to support Windows 7 – making Apple’s forward-looking policy not only technically advantageous but also significantly less expense in the long run.

In producing the study, IDC extensively interviewed staff at nine large enterprise companies to determine the actual costs associated with supporting XP more than a decade after its initial introduction. In the process, researchers discovered that on average 42% of business PCs are still running the aging OS. When Microsoft finally ends every vestige of support for XP a little under a year from now, 11% of PCs in business are likely to still be running what will then be a 13-year-old OS.

The expenses involved in supporting XP come from a mix of sources. The fact that supporting XP also tends to mean supporting hardware that’s beyond the three-year milestone that’s considered the optimal lifespan of a PC is a big part of the expense. Computerworld’s Gregg Keizer explains that after the three-year mark, PC support costs increase dramatically.

IT labor costs jump 25% during year four of a PC’s lifespan, and another 29% in year five, IDC noted, while user productivity costs climb 23% in year four and jump 40% during year five. Total year five costs are a whopping 73% higher than support costs of a two-year-old client.

Not all costs are hardware related, however. In fact some core IT tasks take nearly twice the time and energy when it comes to XP than to Windows 7. Security patching required 82% more time, mitigating malware took 90% more time, and help desk calls more 84% less time.

IDC’s projections taken to an extreme for large businesses, 230 PCs running Windows XP rather than Windows 7 essentially requires an additional full-time IT staff member. Put a slightly different way, transitioning a worker from XP to Windows 7 results in a 137% return on investment over three years.

The study essentially illustrated a common pro-Apple mantra in both the business and consumer markets – up front costs may be higher for a new Mac (and apparently a new PC) but total cost of ownership will be lower.

Unfortunately, the study doesn’t include Mac hardware or OS X as a comparison in addition to Windows 7. A direct comparison might even have been difficult given the sheer number of OS X versions released in the same eleven year time frame (Windows XP, Vista, 7 to… well every version of OS X – eight in all with the number nine due out this summer) and in the hardware transitions that Apple has made in the same time frame – the switch to Intel processors being the most significant. Still, it seems pretty clear from this study that Apple’s approach yields better products and delivers real cost advantages.

Source: Computerworld

Apple will soon offer the Nest Learning Thermostat through both its online and retail Apple Stores, according to online reports. The internet- and iOS-enabled thermostat will sell for $249.

If you can't get enough of Siri's dulcet tones, then you'll be happy to hear that Nuance -- one of the companies behind Apple's intelligent assistant -- has announced a similar type of functionality that should be coming to cars soon. Dragon Drive replicates the power of Siri so that drivers can initiate a conversation to perform common tasks rather than take their hands off the wheel.

Expected sometime this summer, Dragon Drive lets drivers send text messages, check traffic information, play music, or get directions by just asking. A button on the steering wheel activates the voice recognition so that other discussions in the car don't set off a search. Dragon Drive then uses onboard software to do part of the voice recognition rather than relying solely on remote servers like Siri.

Like Siri, Dragon Drive learns a user's voice patters, and other noises like windshield wipers are filtered out. It's expected that the technology will soon be available to any smartphone user and in cars equipped with a cellular radio and SIM card.

Nuance technology is already used in infotainment systems in cars by GM, Ford, BMW, and Daimler, but it is unknown how many of the car manufacturers will opt to use Dragon Drive.

[via Macworld]

Nuance announces Dragon Drive, Siri-like functionality for cars originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 25 May 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

In a quiet update to its Asian iPad page, Apple revealed that Guam and the Philippines would be the next countries to receive the newest version of the popular tablet with a planned May 29 debut.

Dave Burns has been covering stock car racing from pit road for seventeen years, including spending the past twelve covering NASCAR's premiere Sprint Cup Series. These days he's a Pit Reporter for ESPN, covering Nationwide and Sprint Cup practices, qualifying, and races, all over the course of a single weekend -- every weekend -- for months at a time.

Working the pit lane means dealing with dozens of teams, drivers, mechanics, and more; all while keeping viewers informed across hours of live programming. When he started covering NASCAR for NBC in 2001, Burns developed a sophisticated note-taking system that "catered to our programming, the way my brain worked, and portability." He started with half-sized legal pads and advanced to custom-bound pads that he would print and bind at home. He has since accumulated hundreds of binders filled with information.

"I have boxes and boxes of notepads that impressed the crew chiefs and race engineers every time," Burns said. Enviously, the teams would ask "Who does that for you?" Burns response? "I do, with a laser printer and a big ol' stapler!"

One of Burns' old notebooks
When the iPad was released in 2010, Burns instantly saw the potential. He could digitize his notepads, drop the pen and paper, and carry all his reference material with him to every race. After addressing concerns about size; durability; using it outside in the bright summer sun; and, perhaps most importantly, which apps to use; Burns arrived at his perfect setup:

For taking notes, both hand-written and typed, he uses Note Taker HD, a $4.99 iPad app [App Store]. "Note Taker HD has gone through a couple of valuable updates and has been rock solid all the way. I appreciate the "output" feature which allows me to save or email myself a copy of the weekends' work."

For downloading and storing statistics as well as the weekly NASCAR Media Guide, he found the $1.99 app Simply PDF works best [App Store]. "Simply PDF has been solid as well, never balking at NASCAR's 100+ page per weekend update books. In addition, I permanently store 1-page race results for Nationwide and Sprint Cup, for every event, dating back to 2004."

Originally, Burns used the Boxwave Active Field Case to carry and protect the iPad, but discovered that because it covered the entire iPad, it overheated in the sun. Burns says the first time it happened, he "calmly shut it down and scrambled for pen and paper."

To avoid more heat-related complications, he switched to the FreeOneHand iPad holder and avoids holding the iPad in direct sunlight for too long. It has since "endured countless days out in the 90 degree heat of summer." He uses Boxwave's ClearTouch anti-glare screen protector to cut screen glare.

I upgraded to the iPad 2 over the winter for the weight break and camera, and all has gone smoothly in 2012. I no longer bring my MacBook Air on the road, and am thrilled that the TSA doesn't require that the iPad be removed from my carry on! Using the iPad for what I do has proven to be efficient and entertaining. And, as usual for an Apple product, IT JUST WORKS. I've had to put a baggie over it a time or two in a rain situation, but other than that it absolutely does the job.

And once again the crew chiefs and engineers ask, "who does that for you?"

Burns developed his system personally, using his own iPad, and says that iPad use isn't widespread among the on-air talent at ESPN. "Almost every pit reporter developed a system that fits their way of thinking," Burns said. "As a pit reporter on television, you cue up a lot of things to say in your brain, but as the action on the track moves, so must your story."

He said that with his paper notepads, he would constantly be flipping back and forth from a "driver page" with prewritten story notes to a "race tracking page" where he jots down details mid-race. He says that he runs into the same problem on the iPad and he has needed to train himself to remember the tricks that get him from app to app, and this "may be a process that would distract others rather than help them." He says that ESPN isn't requiring reporters to work a certain way, as these note taking systems are extremely personal.

Most importantly, so far as Burns is concerned, the system "really works" for him. Side effects, such as saving resources by not needing to print hundreds of pages each week, are a benefit, but weren't his primary motivation. "I can do a lot of things on the fly and easily incorporate items into my notes." Having a connection to the Internet helps too. Burns uses the personal hotspot feature on an Android phone on Sprint because, being a prime NASCAR sponsor, they have the best coverage at the track.

He shared a sample PDF to show the kind of notes he takes. This is from the Pioneer Hy-Bred 250 this past weekend at Iowa Speedway. It includes the race tracking system he developed, post-race NASCAR stats pasted in for future reference, and individual pages for the drivers he covered during the race.

Burns does have some visions for the future. He'd love to add live race timing and scoring, as well as the ability to scan driver's radio frequencies. He currently has a radio scanner hooked up to a Bluetooth transmitter attached to the back to the iPad. "NASCAR keeps close control of their timing and scoring," Burns noted, but they haven't provided that to mobile users except for an app that Sprint, as a primary sponsor, provides to their customers. That app is Android-only at the moment, but is coming to Sprint iPhone owners later this year.

"I may not want it," Burns noted. "I don't know if I want my note-taking iPad tied up with scanning frequencies or showing a screen of scoring" or a live ESPN video feed. That said, he would "always like to try."

This weekend, he'll be covering the NASCAR Nationwide race live from the pit road at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Coverage of qualifying begins at 11AM Eastern on ESPN, with the race beginning at 2:30PM Eastern on ABC.

Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
• Apple Stores to Sell Nest Thermostat
• New iPad Launching in Philippines and Guam on May 29
• Autodesk Releases 'Sketchbook Ink' iPad Drawing App Demo'd at New iPad Launch
• Indie Developers Support Flexible Pricing with 'Because We May' Sale
• Apple Releases Aperture 3.2.4 Update

Jim Dalrymple:

Analysts and media types insist that Apple needs to bring a smaller tablet to market to ward off the threat from Amazon.

There are a couple of things to consider with this argument. First, people that use that as the basis for the release of a 7-inch iPad are full of shit. Second, using that argument shows they don’t understand Apple and how the company works.

Snapping a quick picture on your iPhone is easy, but getting the image on your desktop can sometimes be a chore. Bump, an early iPhone app that made it easy to swap contact info by "bumping" two iPhones together, now lets you bump your iPhone on your computer to send a selection of images straight to your computer's hard drive, or even to Bump's photo-sharing cloud service.

I'll give you a scenario to illustrate how Bump can make the process of using pictures from your iPhone or Android phone a little easier (it's one I've run into personally on numerous occasions). Say you want to list an item on Craigslist: you snap a picture or two of the item using your iPhone, and you need to get the pictures to your computer so you can upload them to Craigslist.

You could connect your iPhone via USB, and use Image Capture or iPhoto syncing to get the images to your Mac. If you use Photo Stream on your iPhone, the photos will eventually sync to iPhoto and you can copy them from there. Because my sync cable is generally at the other end of the house on the nightstand, I usually e-mail the photos to myself.

Read more | Comments

Guy English:

I believe that many Apple observers have been too invested in picking off the low hanging fruit of obviously out-of-touch commentators, columnists, and analysts. Apple is winning. It’s fun to pick on the idiots, and we do tune in for the affirmation that engenders, but that’s not insight. It’s a tag team wedgie patrol. It takes a clever intellect to dismantle bullshit but, ultimately, it often just ends up with pantsing the dumb guy. Rather than doing that let’s aim to pants the A-grade quarterback.

Here are the top three problems I believe Apple faces in the near term.

Great piece, with much to ponder. I wish I’d written this first. Perhaps I would have if I weren’t guilty as charged regarding time spent dismantling bullshit.

A new report quotes a former Apple employee as saying that people at the company are "embarrassed by Siri" and late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs would have "lost his mind" over the feature's performance.